Orthopedic foot support



Feb. 4, 1964 R. GOSSWEILER 3,120,231

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1964 R. GOSSWEILER 3,120,231

ORTHOPEDIC FOOT SUPPORT Filed Oct. 6, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 9 s2 36 1964 R. GOSSWEILER ORTHOPEDIC FOOT SUPPORT 3 S11 eets Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 6, 1961 Fig. 14

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United States Patent 3,120,231 ORTHOIEDIC FOOT SUPPORT Rudolf Gessweiier, Fenerthalen, Zurich, Switzerland Filed Oct. 6, 1961, Ser. No. 143,468 Claims priority, application Switzerland Oct. 12, 1960 Claims. (Cl. 128-581) The present invention relates to an orthopedic foot support for preventing and remedying foot deformations such as flat foot, splay foot and high arched foot or pes cavus. The novelty of the present invention manifests itself in that with a single embodiment of the foot support according to the invention it is possible to remedy all effect adjustment of the foot support to obtain substantially any desired corrective effect thereof within a wide range.

Up to date there exist two fundamental types of shoe inserts or foot supports.

According to the most common type, it is intended by means of cushion-like build-ups on the shoe inserts to obtain a direct support of the foot arch below its culmination point. The result of this direct supporting means is a tendency toward inactivity atrophy of the muscles, ligaments, bands and joint capsules, i.e. of the entire foot, and the feet will be permanently dependent on such supports because the foot itself is not aided or cured in this manner.

The second type of shoe inserts developed by Bijhler, Scotte and others was developed approximately 40 years ago and is unjustly called foot support inasmuch as it does not support the arched foot portion. It supports the heel and the first and fifth intermediate foot bone.

This type of foot support for the three mentioned bones, which serve as support and carrier of the entire human skeleton, merely furnishes another foundation in place of the shoe sole. It is a foundation, the surface of which, due to the type and steepness of its inclination in the rear and front portion of the shoe insert forces the heel and the intermediate foot bones to a substantially nonmal position, or to return to the same. Thus, the heel is placed upon a rearwardly inclined surface (for flat feet) and upon an inwardly or outwardly inclined surface (for high arched foot). In an analogous manner the heads I to V of the intermediate foot bones are placed upon a forwardly inclined surface. In this way the longitudinal arch of the foot is forced to stand up again while simultaneously the foot is inclined toward the outside, and the transverse arch, i.e. splay foot, is improved.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic foot support which will overcome the above mentioned drawbacks of foot supports heretofore known.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic foot suppont which, in spite of a relatively simple structure, will correct foot deformations at low treatment costs.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a shoe support according to a first embodiment of the invention, the shoe support shown in FIG. 1 and in the remaining figures being intended for the right foot.

FIG. 2 is a section along the line IIII of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section along the line I=IIIII of FIG. 1.

PG. 4 is a section along the line IVIV of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a section along the line VV of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a top view of a shoe support according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section along the line VIIVII of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a section along the line VIIIVIII of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a partial section along the line IX-IX of FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is a partial top view of the embodiment of FIGS. 6 to 9 with a longitudinal and axial displacement of the shoe support.

FIG. 11 represents a top view of the front portion of a two-part shoe support according to a further embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11a is a top view of the rear portion of the twopart shoe support according to FIG. 11.

FIG. 12 illustrates a section of the longitudinal foot axis according to FIGS. 11 and 11a but with the two portions pushed together. 12FIG. 13 is a section along the line XIIIXIII of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a partial section along the line XIV-XIV of FIG. 11a.

FIG. 15 is a top view of a shoe suppont according to FIGS. 11 to 14 illustrating a plurality of adjusting possibilities of the two shoe support portions with regard to each other.

General Arrangement The orthopedic foot support according to the present invention is based on the principle of the indirect correctlve support of the foot. More specifically, it is based on the principle of the support for the bottom of the heel as is recognized by the entire medical profession. The present invention is characterized primarily in that it comprises a shoe support which includes at least a portion of the contour of an insole and has a smooth top side while the bottom side of said shoe support is provided with means for receiving exchangeable building-up elements.

Structural Arrangement As shown in the top view of FIG. 1, the shoe insert 1 according to the present invention comprises at least a portion of the contour of an insole. The upper side 2 which faces the foot consists of a suitable distortable wear-resistant material such as for instance nylon or similar synthetic material which is also resistant with regard to foot sweat. The said upper side 2 is smooth which means that it has no protrusions. The front portion 9 and the rear portion 5 of said foot support 1 has a substantially uniform thickness of for instance 4 millimeters or more, whereas the intermediate portion 18 has only a thickness of for instance 2 millimeters thereby permitting a distortion or bending of the insert in said central portion 18.

The front portion 9 of the insert 1 has its bottom side 12 provided with a straight slide groove 3. More specifically, this groove 3 is arranged at the bottom side 12 behind the widest portion of support 1, i.e. behind an imaginary line which is parallel to a straight line extending from the big toe bottom to the small toe bottom. As will be evident from FIG. 2, the depth of groove 3 decreases from the inner side of the foot toward the outer side thereof. Arranged in groove 3, the dove-tail cross section of which is clearly visible in FIG. 4, is a wedge member 13 which forms a slide and has a length amounting for instance to one-third of the length of groove 3. The said wedge member 13 is longitudinally displaceable in said groove. The greatest thickness 15 (FIG. 2) of this wedge member 13 is so dimensioned that its outer surface 6 in its outermost position, indicated in FIG. 2 by solid lines, is flush with the bottom side of insert 1 in part 9. When displacing the Wedge member 13 into the dash position of FIG. 2, the inner end of part 9 of sup port 1 will be raised. In this way, the central foot bones extends at an angle of approximately 45 to the longitudinal axis 10 of the foot. The said groove 4 starts approximately at the center of the heel portion and ends at a point 8 which approximately corresponds to the front and inner end of the heel of the shoe. This point 8, when viewing the projection is located approximately below the front and medium heel end. In the neighbor'- hood of said point 8 there is also located the merging edge 19 where the thin portion 18 merges with the thick portion of the support, said edge 19 extending approx mately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 10 of the foot.

As will be evident from FIG. 3, the depth of groove 4 increases toward point 8. Longitudinaliy displaceably arranged in groove 4 is a wedge member r14 forming a slide and having a length for instance of one-third of the length of groove 4. The greatest thickness of wedge member 14 is so dimensioned that the outer surface 7 thereof will in the position shown in'FIG. 3 in solid lines be flush with the bottom side 12 of the support. When displacing wedg'e member 14, for instance into the position shown in dash lines in FIG. 3, the thicker portion 5 of the support 1 will at this point be raised more md more so that the said portion 5 will correspond to a reanwardly and outwardly tapering heel-sole wedge.

In this way, the correction of the heel portion or OS calcis can gradually be effected in conformity with the respective requirements. For better arresting the wedge member 14 with regard to the interior of the shoe, the bottom side of wedge member 14, preferably at the thickest end thereof, is provided with a semi-spherical elevation 11 which when the wearer of the support is walking can press itself into the insole.

. A further embodiment of a shoe support according to the invention is shown in top view in FIG. 6. According to the arrangement of FIG. 6, the shoe support is composed of two support sections 21 and 31 adjustable relative to each other. The upper sides 41 and 51 of said support sections 21 and 31 are smooth as will be evident from-FIG. 7. As is likewise evident from said FIG. 7, the two sections 21 and 31 overlap each other in such a way that the front portion 21 extends over the rear portion 31. The edges 25, 34 of the overlapping portions 30, 35 are chamferred. The front end 26 of portion 3%} of the shoeinser-t section 21 is wedge-shaped, the thickness'of said portion 30 being for instance 2 millimeters. The arrangement is such that the said wedge-shaped por tion-30 ends in a thickened portion 22 which leads at the bottom side 43 to a merging edge 27. The front edge 26 extends primarily in a direction which isparallel to an imaginary line from the big toe sole to the small toe sole and, when contemplating the projection, ends directly behind the toe soles. At the rear end 25 of the front support section 21 there are arranged studs 28 and 29 (see FIG. 6) which fit in' corresponding holes 38 and 39 of the rear support section 31.

Instead of the two studs 23 and 29 in the section 21, also two holes may be provided of preferably the same diameter as that of the holes in the row of holes 38 and 39. By passing cylindrical studs therethrough, the two sections may 'be secured in the respective desired position. These studs may be held in the two sections 21 and 31 by adhesives or by welding or pressing. However, the

studs or pivots may also be secured by slipping thereover a thin band or sleeve (not shown) which covers the upper and bottom side of the supports at the respective connecting points. The inserted pivots may also be secured in their position by gluing onto the respective areas a strip of suitable material. If, however, the two support sections 21 and 31 after having been adapted to a foot are intended to retain their mutual location in an unchanged manner, the said two sections may be firmly interconnected by an adhesive or by welding.

In the thickened portion 22 pertaining to the support section 21 or located between the front'edge 26 and the merging edge 27 there are provided two holes 24 and 24a for seiectively receiving support buildups which are to be mounted from the bot-tom side 43 as will be described in detail later. As will be seen from FIG. 8, the support sections 21 are chamferred along their entire length on the foot outside 23.

The rear support section 31 has its rear portion 51, which extends to a merging edge 32 at the bottom side 44, designed in a thickness of for instance 4 millimeters or more. The front portion, which. extends from the merging edge 32 to the front edge 34, has a considerably,

thicker cross section namely of for instance 2 millimeters thickness so as to permit a distort-ion in every direction. The outside 3-3 of the support section 31 is chamferred along its entire length. In the front thinner portion 35 there are provided rows of holes 38 and 39 adapted to receive studs or pivots 28 and 29 of the front support section 21. The arrangement of the pivots 28, 29 with regard to the holes 38, 39 is such that on one hand by relative displacement of the two sections in the direction of the longitudinal axis 10 of the foot, the total length 46 of the shoe support 21 and 31 may be varied. On the v coincide my longer as illustrated in FIG. 6. Such adjustment is particularly necessary with highly deformed feet. The two sections 21 and 31 may be interconnected in such a way that the longitudinal axis 10 of the foot will be angled off as is partially indicated in FIG. 10. The rear insert section 31 is provided with three holes 36, 37 and 48. The two holes 36 and 37 are located along one line which is approximately parallel to the front edge of the heel of the shoe. The hole 40 is located at a point of the foot inner side which point is located near the inner edge of the heel of the shoe and through which passes a line which leads from the heel center outwardly at an approximate angle of 45 The holes 36, 3-7 and 4% are adapted selectively to receive buildups, from the bottom side 44 which buildups will permit to give the rear thick portion 41, which approximately corresponds to the contour of a shoe heel, selectively aniuclination in one or the other direction with "different heights 53 (FIG. 9) are provided which when changes occur in the condition of the foot deformation will make it possible to exchange theres-pective buildups for lower or higher pivots 50. The length of the pivot neck 52 is so dimensioned that the same will not protrude through the thickened portions 22 or 41 of the support beyond the upper side 43 or 44.

By inserting pivots 50 into the thick portions 22, 42

of the supports 21, 31, the two respective portions which are rather rigid per so are inclined relative to the hori- 'zontal or the insole and will thus bring about the desired correction. The thin intermediate portions30, 35 on the other hand will permit a distortion of the support sections 21 and 31 relative to each other.

By a corresponding arrangement of the holes 24, 24a, 36, 37 and 4% all foot deformations may be treated. Thus, for instance, for treating a flat-high arched foot, a pivot 59 may be employed in hole 36. With a flat foot, pivots 5% are inserted into holes 36 and 37, and when a high arched foot is involved, pivots 50 are inserted into holes 36 and 4t Depending on the ascertained or diagnosed condition, the height 53 of the pivot 50 will be varied.

If, however, it is desired in the front support portion 21 to provide a slight transverse inclination of the high arched portion 22 from the foot inner side to the foot outer side, a pivot 59 is inserted into hole 24. For purposes of increasing the transverse inclination, a higher pivot 59 may be inserted into hole 24 or also a pivot 50 may be inserted into hole 24a.

The one-piece support 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 and provided with grooves 3 and 4 could also be designed in conformity with FIG. 6 which means it could be composed of two inter-connectable sections, in which instance each section would have to be provided with a corresponding groove.

Similarly, the support according to FIG. 6, which is composed of two sections 21 and 31, may not be provided with holes 24, 24a, 36, 37 and 40 for the pivots 59 but may be provided with grooves 3, 4 and wedge members 13, 14 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5. Also in the support 1 according to FIG. 1, the grooves 3 and 4 may be replaced by holes 24, 24a, 36, 37 and 40 in conformity with the arrangement of FIG. 6.

The arrangement and design of the front edge 17, 26 of the support 1, 21 in the form of a wedge according to FIGS. 2 and 7, which is to be located directly behind the toe bottom, has the advantage that, when walking, the wedge tongue will with each step exert a massaging effect upon the bands of the foot which in its turn contributes to a strengthening of the failing muscles.

FIG. illustrates by way of example two extreme relative adjusting possibilities for the two support sections 21 and 31. If, for instance, the stud 28 is inserted into a hole 33a of a rearmost group of holes while the stud 29 is inserted in a hole 39a of the same group, the longitudinal foot axis 19, 10a will be angled oif toward the outside of the foot. If, however, stud 28 has been inserted into a hole 381) of a foremost group of holes 38 and the stud 29 has been inserted into a hole 39b of the same group, the longitudinal axis 10, 10b of the foot will be angled off toward the inside of the foot, and the total length 46 (FIG. 6) of the support will be changed. With the illustrated arrangement of the groups of holes, nine different mutual adjust ng possibilities are possible.

FIGS. 11 to illustrate a further embodiment of the present invention according to which the insert sections 61 and 71 of the two-sectional insert may likewise be adjusted relative to each other. As will be evident from the longitudinal section of FIG. 12 which section is taken along the longitudinal axis 10 of the foot, the two insert sections 61 and 71 overlap in such a way that when viewing the insert from above, the rear section 71 extends beyond the front section 61. The rear and front edges 65 and 74 respectively of overlapping portions 71) and 75 respectively of the insert section 61 and 71 are chamfered. The said overlapping portions 70 and 75 are of a substantially uniform thickness, for instance of 1 to 2 millimeters. The front end 66 of insert section 61 has a smooth top side 81 and is wedge-shaped while forming a thickened portion 62 which leads to a merging edge 67 at the bottom side 83. The front edge 66 extends substantially in a direction parallel to an assumed line extending from the big toe bottom surface to the small toe bottom surface and when viewing in the projection ends directly behind the toe surfaces. The rear end of the front insert section 61 has rows of holes 68 and 69 as has been clearly shown in FIG. 11.

The thickened portion 62 which pertains to the front insert section 61 and is located between the front edge 66 and the merging edge 67 has two holes 64 and 64a for selectively receiving buildups similar to those described in connection with FIGS. 6 to 9, said buildups being introduced from the bottom side 83. As will be evident 6 from FIGS. 11 and 13, the insert section 61 is slanted over its entire length on the foot outside 63.

As will be seen from FIG. 11a, the rear portion 82, which extends to a merging edge 72 at the bottom side 84, has a substantially uniform thickness of for instance 4 millimeters or more. The adjacent front portion 75 has a substantially uniform thickness of approximately 1 to 2 millimeters. This permits a distortion in all directions. The insert section 71 is chamfered on the foot outside 73 and on a portion of the rear edge as evident from FIG. 11a. The front thin portion 75 has two parallel rows of three holes 78, 79 each.

The rear thicker portion 82 of the insert section 71 with a smooth top side 91 has six holes 76, 76a, 76b, 77, 77a and 80 which serve for selectively receiving buildups mounted from the bottom side 84 as described above. As buildups there may be employed studs 99 having a roughened or knurled bottom side.

FIG. 13 illustrates how in distinction to the connecting possibilities of FIGS. 6 to 9, the shoe insert sections 61 and 71 adapted to the respective foot may be connected by means of fiat head rivets 98 of any suitable material.

FIG. 15 illustrates two possible positions of the two insert sections 61 and 71 while showing the maximum length 86 of the total insert with an additional angular position out of the longitudinal axis of the foot. In the second position, the total length 86a is considerably reduced, and partially also the lateral chamfers 63 and 73 have been cut off which may be necessary when a small shoe is involved. With the arrangement of the rows of holes 68, 69 and 78, 79 illustrated in FIGS. 11, 11a and 15, a very great number of relative longitudinal and angular positions are possible.

An essential advantage of the inserts according to the present invention, particularly of the embodiments of FIGS. 6 to 10 and 11 to 15, consists in that for covering a wide range of shoe numbers, only a small number of standard parts is required. By suitably composing the two sections, the total length of the inserts may be varied while angular displacements toward both sides will be possible.

The cross sectional reductions 2t), 23, 33 and 63, 73 will permit on the foot outsides to precisely adapt or fit the inserts in conformity with the shape of the foot, inasmuch as at said mentioned parts material can be taken off.

The displaceability of the wedge members 13 and 14 (FIGS. 1 to 5), and the insertion of buildup studs 5t), 96 of different height 53 (FIGS. 6 to 10) or 93 (FIGS. 11 to 15) yield many possibilities of individually adapting the inserts to the occurred foot deformations, for purposes of introducing the healing process.

While the shoe inserts described above in connection with the drawings are intended for the right foot, it is, of course, to be understood that the inserts for the left foot will have to be designed so as to form an image to those for the right foot. In View of the many possible adjustabilities, each foot can be treated individually.

The invention thus comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An orthopedic foot support, which comprises a shoe insert presenting a substantially smooth uninterrupted top side and having a contour corresponding at least in part to the contour of an insole including the heel portion, said insert being thin and flexible in the central portion and having a thickened stilf region at each end formed by projections on the bottom side, each said thickened region on the bottom side of said shoe insert being pro vided with holes for exchangeably receiving and holding buildup means, and build up means comprising button elements having shank portions receivable in said holes.

2. An orthopedic foot support, which comprises a shoe insert having a thin intermediate section and thickened 7 end sections and having a contour corresponding at least in part to the contour of an insole including the heel portion, the top side of said shoe insert being substantially smooth and uninterrupted, and said thickened end sections on thebottom side of said shoe insert being provided with holes for exchangeably receiving and holding buildup means,'and build up means comprising button elements having reduced diameter shank portions receivable tightly in said holes.

3. An orthopedic foot support which comprises a twosectional shoe insert with the two sections thereof being adjustable relative to each other, one said section comprising a stilt heel-shaped portion and a thin portion extending forwardly from the top, the other section comprising a thin portion and a thickened region on the bottom thereof at the front, said thin portion overlapping, means for securing said thin portions together for holding said sections in their respective adjusted positions, said shoe insert'presenting substantially smooth uninterrupted top side and having a contour corresponding at least in part to the contour of an insole including the heel portion, the bottom side of said heel portion and the bottom side of said thickened region being provided with holes for exchangeably receiving and holding buildup means, and build up means comprising button elements having reduced diameter shank portions receivable tightly in said holes.

4. An orthopedic foot support which comprises a shoe insert presenting a substantially smooth uninterrupted top side and having a contour corresponding at least in part to the contour of an insole including the heel portion, the bottom side of said shoe insert being provided with thickened regions at the heel end and at the front end, holes in said thickened regions adapted exchangeably to receive and hold buildup button means for said insert, said holes being distributed in said thickened regions according to a predetermined pattern.

5. An orthopedic foot support which comprises a shoe insert having a substantially smooth uninterrupted top side and having a contour corresponding at least in part to the contour of an insole inciuding the heel portion, the bottom side of said shoe insert being provided with thickened regions on the bottom at the opposite ends, holes extending into said regions from the bottom, and stud means exchangeably received and retained in said holes and protruding outwardly therefrom beyond the bottom surface of said insert to form selectively positionable buildup means therefor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,418,250 George May 30, 1922 1,497,640 Reed June 10, 1924 1,879,729 Brown Sept. 27, 1932 2,217,882 Andersen Oct. 15, 1940 2,220,439 Block Nov. 5, 1940 2,312,378 Baum Mar. 2, 1943 2,599,589 Silverman June 10, 1952 2,917,848 Scholl Dec. 22, 1959 2,943,405 Olson July 5, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 822,946 Germany Nov. 29, 1951 212,637 Great Britain a Mar. 13, 1924 OTHER REFERENCES Wedges & Corrections page 16 of Master Shoe Rebuilder, vol. X, No. 10, October 1950. 

1. AN ORTHOPEDIC FOOT SUPPORT, WHICH COMPRISES A SHOE INSERT PRESENTING A SUBSTANTIALLY SMOOTH UNINTERRUPTED TOP SIDE AND HAVING A CONTOUR CORRESPONDING AT LEAST IN PART TO THE CONTOUR OF AN INSOLE INCLUDING THE HEEL PORTION, SAID INSERT BEING THIN AND FLEXIBLE IN THE CENTRAL PORTION AND HAVING A THICKENED STIFF REGION AT EACH END FORMED BY PROJECTIONS ON THE BOTTOM SIDE, EACH SAID THICKENED REGION ON THE BOTTOM SIDE OF SAID SHOE INSERT BEING PROVIDED WITH HOLES FOR EXCHANGEABLY RECEIVING AND HOLDING BUILDUP MEANS, AND BUILD UP MEANS COMPRISING BUTTON ELEMENTS HAVING SHANK PORTIONS RECEIVABLE IN SAID HOLES. 